Falling Rain
by InfiniteDragon
Summary: Falling Rain, part 3 of my Taang-focused fanfic. Set roughly seven years post-war, rated M for graphic violence, likely lemons, and adult content mental instability, torture, etc in later chapters. Final arc of the story, begun with Fly like a Rock.
1. Chapter 1: One last chance

**A/N:** Sorry about the error that erased the story and replaced it with my Bleach fic. Should be fixed now. As always, I don't own Avatar or anything related to it. I just write in the world and with the chars because they're cool and I love 'em. Don't sue me please. :D

Edit: Chap. 3 is almost done, should be posted tomorrow. (11/12/08)

_**Falling Rain**_

**Chap. 1 One last chance...**

The young mother stretched languidly with a sigh, then dropped her left arm over the back of her husband. He groaned softly, and she could hear his heart and breath pick up a little, so she knew he was now awake as well. "Wake up, sleepyhead. It's raining outside, and Momo's getting antsy. Let him in, will ya? Then maybe some breakfast?"

Mumbling something about how it was always him doing the cooking, even on his 'vacation', the young man pushed one hand against the stone wall at her feet and it sank into the ground from whence it had come. The volume of the rain doubled at once, and the black-haired young woman grinned. She'd always loved the rain. It provided the clearest view of her world, because the constant vibrations, far too small for most humans to notice, painted the pictures in her mind that she called 'sight'.

Their children, the twins Katara and Sokka, were having their first 'sleep over' since they had been born at their grandparent's estate. They were nine months old, now, and both already crawling. Sokka, in particular, liked exploring everywhere, getting into trouble, and being inquisitive. His older sister, though, also like her namesake, was quieter, fussed less, and preferred to sit still- as long as she was in physical contact with someone else, regardless of who.

Poppy, Toph's mother, had been ecstatic when the two had asked them to babysit for a week, to give the young couple a little time to rest from the trials of raising twins as such a young age- and for the Avatar to fulfill a little of his 'duties', whatever those were. Again, Toph's smile widened, remembering the 'duty' he had fulfilled with her just that last night.

_I don't think I'll ever get tired of that... of him. But if I got pregnant again... _already_..._

Aang's call woke her up from her doze a while later, but it was the smell of sausage wafting through the damp air that got her out of bed at last. "That smells great, Twinkletoes. But why'd you make sausage? It's not my birthday or anything."

"I just... wanted to make sure you recovered your energy, that's all," he said, sounding a little sheepish. Toph dropped herself to sit next to him, and he expanded the bubble of dry air around he and the old lemur to encompass the Earthbender as well. "Listen, Toph... I've been thinking. We still have a couple of months left out of our year, but I don't think we should just play around. Your dad's getting worried about the Order's safety, they've been losing more and more men every day. I'm sure the General is more worried than he let on last month, too. So..."

"Out with it. You want us to start looking for him, right? Before he can find us?"

Aang didn't seem to surprised by Toph's bluntness, nor the fact that she'd known exactly what he was getting at. He stood up slowly, keeping one of her calloused hands in his as he did so, then pulled her to her feet, forcing her to scramble up so as not to drop her sausage.

"Out that way," he said, pointing though he knew by now it was pointless, "is the southern Hu Xin province. It's mostly jungle. If I was a Firebender, that's where I'd hide... if I was in the Earth Kingdom, anyway. Think it's worth a look?"

While Toph contemplated the question, reviewing as best she could her limited knowledge of western Earth Kingdom geography, Momo's nose twitched once, and the old lemur roused himself to stare into the rain.

It wasn't until the two had Appa loaded with their supplies, and a messenger hawk had been sent to Gaoling to inform Lao and the Order that they might be late returning, that Aang noticed Momo was nowhere to be found.

Calls, offers of food, even offers of a feast combined with the Bison's calls did not cause the diminutive creature to return.

Of course, Aang wouldn't leave without his pet, nor would Toph even suggest it, so with a sigh, they guided Appa back into the huge earthen tent they'd made for him the night before, and huddled next to him to wait out the rain, or for the lemur to return.

* * *

With a start, Toph woke again. There was something big crashing through the forest straight toward their camp, and it was coming fast. "Aang! Wake up! I think we're under attack!"

At once, he was on his feet, wiping his eyes with one hand to clear the cobwebs, the other reaching out to take hold of his staff. "Where?" was all he asked.

"There," she pointed, "About two hundred yards out, right at the edge of my hearing... but it's coming closer pretty quick. And it's coming straight at us. You want me to make a wall?"

"No," he said after a moment, "Let's see what it is first. It could just be a coincidence."

Toph snorted, grinning, "Coincidence? With you around? Who do you think you are, some Cabbage Merchant? You're the _Avatar_. Whatever it is, it's after us... for something."

He didn't bother arguing- after all, what she'd said had been proven true time and again.

And then, suddenly, Momo burst from the trees, from the same direction Toph had pointed. Aang's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed as he realized that whatever his wife had heard had been chasing the creature. "Here, Momo," he called, taking up a defensive position just as a dark shadow leapt from the edge of the forest, landing hard a few yards in front of him.

The only thing that could have surprised Aang more than seeing this Shirshu and it's black-haired rider more at this time of his life, after warning the bounty hunter that he'd kill her if they met again, was seeing the shadows under her closed eyes, the paler-than-usual pallor of her skin, and most importantly, the great swell of her belly as she slid sideways off of her mount to land with a thud on her side, where she didn't move.

"Is... is that June?" Toph asked incredulously, while Aang stood there without moving. The Shirshu circled to nudge the woman with it's mole-like nose once, twice, but she still did not stir. Aang stepped toward her, Toph right behind him, but the beast did not react with any hostility. It seemed to have eyes only for it's master. _She's breathing, I can see it. But why isn't she-_  
Aang's thoughts were interrupted by a scream of pain, and he halted, watching in horror as June's statuesque face contorted in agony, her entire body shaking.

* * *

"Are you awake yet?"

The woman didn't seem sure of that herself. Her eyes opened slowly, haltingly, then she scrunched them shut at once. "I'm sorry, Avatar. Please... don't kill me yet. I just want... to see my baby first."

"I'm not going to kill you," he answered slowly, and she heard him sit back on a stone bench around the edge of the structure she found herself in.

"You... you aren't? But you said..."

"I know what I said. But I'm not going to kill a new mother... no matter what she's done. Besides... it seems Momo brought you here, and I trust him. As far gone as you were... you wouldn't have lived without a Waterbender to heal you, so that's another bit of proof for you."

He fell silent, and eventually, June opened her eyes, taking a moment to examine the shelter. Then, at last, his silent gaze drew her own eyes to his. He was watching her closely, but his expression was carefully neutral. She couldn't even detect any signs of anger in his clear eyes.

"You really aren't going to hurt me? What about..."

He leaned back, finally turning his eyes upward as he interrupted, "It's a boy. He looks... well, I was going to say he looks like you, but most Fire Nation babies I've seen look like that. Dark hair, pale skin, you know."

He looked down at her once again, then continued, "Toph's taking care of him for now. Don't worry," he said at once, "she's pretty good at it, sight or not. She can get Katara and Sokka to do pretty much anything, and she'd never let anything hurt him. That's not how she is. When you're up to it, when he's clean, she'll bring him in. Until then, we have a few minutes to talk."

But he didn't say anything, again he just watched her with his piercing eyes until her own gaze broke. "Where are we? The last thing I remember was a contraction... that was near Quen Shu City. I told Kikito find you, and..."

"Kiki? Your new Shirshu's name is Kiki?" he couldn't suppress the grin, especially after he saw her grimace. She growled, "She was a lot cuter as a baby. Now that's all she'll answer to."

"Right... we're near the borders of the Hu Xin jungle. We were about to head in and look for Zhao when Momo took off."

Her eyes wide, she replied, "Good guess. Last time I saw Zhao, he was camped in some ruins near the center of the jungle. He was saying something about how he'd driven out a native tribe, and nearly killed two dragons- at once."

"The Sun Warriors? He couldn't have!"

"That's just what he said," June replied quickly, "but from what I know about Fire Nation history, the furthest east the Sun Warriors ever settled was near the Western Air Temple... not this far east. So maybe he's mistaken, but he _is_ a pretty good historian. I mean, what he learned in Wa Shi Tong's library alone..."

The Avatar grunted once, folding his arms across his chest. "So, do you think he's still there?"

She shook her head slowly, "No... I overheard him talking to one of his Captains a couple of days before he... before I left. They were packing up the camp, too, so I don't think they stayed long. That'd be about ten months, now."

Aang nodded once, then changed the subject, "The child is his, isn't it?"

He was surprised by the sudden look of rage in her eyes. She threw the light blanket off of her and stood up quickly, glaring at him, "The child is _mine_, regardless of what demon spawn sired him!"

For the first time since she'd woken up, the young Avatar showed real emotion. But it wasn't the fear she had expected, it was... pity. Sadness. For _her_.

"He... he forced you, didn't he?"

She nodded, cursing herself silently for the tears that welled in her eyes.

* * *

"Toph?" Aang asked after hearing a knock on the stone wall a few minutes later. June didn't hear the reply, but the Avatar gestured with a finger, and a door-sized hole opened in the stone, revealing the lithe form of the Earthbender, carrying a small bundle of forest green cloth.

"Is... is that him?" June asked, her eyes riveted on Toph's arms.

"Yeah," she said, walking toward the bounty hunter without hesitation and offering up the baby, "What are you going to name him?"

For a long time, the woman didn't answer, only gazed with wide-eyed adoration at the creature she held awkwardly in her arms. "Hello Naoe," she whispered at last.

The sun was starting to set when Aang broke the tableau, "So, June... do you want to help us hunt him down?"


	2. Chapter 2: The hunt begins

**A/N:** All right, let's get the obligatory **_I DON'T OWN AVATAR_** out of the way now.

Sorry about the long wait- my vacation didn't let me type up much, this is all I have. It's hard to write surrounded by 15 noisy kids all the time.

**Chap. 2 The hunt begins**

June refused to leave Kiki or her son alone, so Toph accompanied her on the back of her mount, the Earthbender keeping a firm hold on the infant while the ex-bounty hunter held the reigns. Above them, Aang soared on his glider to the right, and Appa alone to the left. The Avatar had decided that having the three of them in separate groups would make it easier for them to find traces of the enemy camp, and Appa had taken off at once with a grunt.

"What's his last name?" Toph asked after a while.

The other woman didn't seem prone to small talk, but even the normally taciturn Earthbender was growing bored with the mostly-silent movement of the great shirshu through the jungle, and because Naoe was currently sleeping, her only other focus for attention was June.

"Doesn't have one. I never did, don't figure he needs one either."

"No last name?" Toph's eyes widened a little, and she could feel June shrug ahead of her. "I was an orphan, raised by nuns. June was the name of the Abbess, so I got it too."

The jungle passed quickly, and for a time neither said anything else. It wasn't until the baby, jarred by a sudden movement of their mount, began to stir from his nap that Toph spoke again, "I know you probably aren't interested at all right now, but have you ever thought about getting married? Taking someone else's name? Having two parents is better than one, from what I hear."

"No. He's my child, no one else's. I'll raise him alone. Even if I have to study my whole life to make sure I don't screw him up like I am."

The black-haired young woman laughed out loud, and the baby in her arms fussed again, cracking his eyes for a moment then closing them slowly, "You can't learn how to raise kids from a book. You might get some tips, but you have to learn from experience. At least, that's what my mother told me when I asked her to teach me how to bring them up right."

This time, it was the older woman who laughed, turning her head to look back at Toph, "You actually asked her? You're braver than I gave you credit for. Your mother scares me to death!"

Toph was just drawing in a breath to reply when the arrow thudded into the shirshu's leg, grazing the Earthbender's arm is it passed.

She yelped in surprise, accompanied by the shirshu's bellow of pain. Expecting him to skid to a stop, Toph braced forward, but instead the animal leapt forward with greater speed, and the forward-leaning young woman toppled back, taking the baby with her. June wrenched Kiki's reigns around and the creature followed without hesitation. She had almost reached the prone Toph, still clutching the bundle of white that was Naoe, with another arrow blurred from the trees, sinking feather-deep into her partner and oldest friend's right eye with a quiet thwack.

The fear around June's heart solidified at once. She knew Kiki was lost, but without her speed, there was no chance they could escape their attackers. Maybe if Toph had been upright and still fighting... or if Aang had known they were under attack. Surely he would come rescue his wife, and her baby while he was at it, but he had to know they were in trouble first.

When the gigantic beast finally slid to a stop beside the Earthbender, June distantly noticed the furrow he'd carved into the jungle undergrowth after his legs had collapsed while she grabbed her only weapon, the trusty whip, and jumped down off the saddle to protect her child as long as she could.

Moments turned into seconds, and seconds passed into minutes. June couldn't make sense of why their attackers hadn't attacked again, why they'd vanished into the jungle as suddenly as the first arrow had appeared. Kiki's last, labored breaths had long since stopped, and both Toph and Naoe lay on the ground, unmoving. June didn't dare bend down to check on either of them, fearing that their enemies would take that momentary weakness to strike. _But why would they need to? They can attack from cover and surprise, I don't have any ranged weapons. They could bring me down whenever they wanted to. What are they waiting for?_

After a few more seconds, her worry for her baby overrode her warrior's instincts to remain cautious, and the knelt down to check both of them for breath and pulse, still scanning the thick greenery around her as she did so.

_Toph's alive. Unconscious? She isn't stirring. No blood that I can see, maybe she hit a root or branch. Naoe... thank the spirits, he's still breathing. So why did they shoot Kiki if they aren't attacking us?_

Toph finally spoke in a whisper June could barely hear over her own breathing and the light breeze in the treetops high above them, "Stomp your foot once, hard. Spin around like you heard something."

June hesitated only a moment, then caught on. _She wants to check the area._

A moment later, Toph sat up slowly, cradling Naoe gently in her arms. "It's clear. I don't hear anyone or anything bigger than a batrabbit within half a mile. Take the little one, I'm going to go signal Aang. I'll be right back."

June practically sighed with relief when the baby was finally in her arms. She checked him quickly for wounds, but found nothing. Apparently he'd slept through the crash to the ground, feeling perfectly safe in the Earthbender's arms.

Reassured, she returned her attention to scanning the jungle around her just in time to notice Toph's bare feet lifting past her head as she rose straight up into the air, rising swiftly above the canopy.

"Aang! Come over here, bring Appa if you can! Kiki's... Kiki's injured, and June's stranded!"

Toph wasn't sure her most powerful bellow had gotten his attention, but a few seconds later she heard the faint echo of his reply. She hovered where she was for a while so both he and the Bison could mark her location, then descended slowly back toward the bounty hunter.

"I didn't know you could fly," the older woman said, a note of caution and fear in her voice, "How many Earthbenders can do that?"

Toph grinned widely, "Just me, as far as I know. I just learned last year, but it's pretty dangerous for me to do it without Aang around, since I can't see if I'm flying into anything. I'm totally blind as soon as I leave the ground."

June shook her head slowly, returning her attention back to the forest, "Any idea why they haven't come after us?"

Toph shook her head, her attention focused far away. "No. There's no one out there, as far as I can tell. And except for right around us, the animals are just as noisy as I'd expect. If Kiki wasn't... if there weren't arrows, I'd say we imagined the attack."

Suddenly reminded of the fate of her longtime partner, June turned back toward the body she'd been studiously avoiding. Kiki was still and motionless, for the first time since she'd met him when he was only a foot or two long. His nose whiskers were limp, and his sides did not move. _He's gone._ "I guess I'm really retired, then. I won't Hunt without him."

"Toph? June? Are you two okay?"

The Bounty Hunter had never been so relieved to hear Aang's voice. His arrival meant they were safe from whatever adversary could bring down Kiki so easily, yet disappeared without a trace moments later. _At least, I think it does._

When he touched down, Appa close behind him, Toph gave him a quick look and walked toward him silently, whispering something in his ear that June couldn't hear. He nodded, his expression grave, and said, "I'll check it out on my air scooter. You two stay here, don't leave the clearing."

The next couple of minutes were agony, as it finally began to sink in that her old friend and partner was _gone forever_, so soon after gaining someone else to care about. _Seems like I'm only meant to have one thing I care about at a time._ The stoic woman refused to let tears fall, though she knew Aang would not judge her and Toph wouldn't see them to begin with. Weakness was death in her line of business.

"It looks clear. As strange as it sounds, it looks like both of those arrows were traps left behind by Zhao's men. One unlucky shot, and one very lucky. I'm sorry, June."

She could hear the sincerity in his voice, and knew he'd lost close friends as well. That knowledge tipped her over the brink and her eyes swelled with salty tears.

**A/N2:** Again, sorry about the long wait. Don't know when the next update will be, but I'll get it done ASAP to get this story finished and done with. R&R por favor, and thanks to those that already have.


	3. Chapter 3: Trail of the demon

**A/N:** My deepest apologies for the wait- real life really really really sucks. But my work schedule has finally been cut down to give me more time for writing, so hopefully I'll be able to finish the whole story in the near future (4 months or less), much less each chapter. I can't promise anything, of course, but I'll do all I can. I know there's a number of people anxiously awaiting the end. As always, read and review if you would, and thanks for all the reviews so far, you're all great.

**Chap. 3 Trail of the demon**

The jungle was quiet around them, the three now all on foot. Ahead, about a mile according to the Avatar, was a razed area where the thick undergrowth and trees had been cleared in a nearly-uniform circle. The remains, he said, of Zhao's camp. "There would be sentries by now if they were still here. And with us already bloodied, I don't think they'd hesitate to send out an attack party. Which makes me think there's no one home."

June nodded, and Toph replied, "Yeah, I can't feel anyone moving around over there. There's a moose-owl, but he's just grazing."  
The bounty hunter scowled and shifted her baby to the other shoulder and pulling her whip half off it's clasp to check that it was loose, resumed walking toward the camp.

Aang took to the air again as soon as they cleared the tree line, but stayed nearby. He could see the two women below him walking forward cautiously. The taller was sweeping her eyes up, down, to each side, and behind as quickly as she could and still actually see what was there. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, and he knew she wouldn't miss much. The Earthbender, though, had her pale green eyes shut for once, both hands held out a little in front of her, palm-down. She was walking slowly, though the Avatar couldn't tell why.

Then he saw the smoke. _That wasn't there when... someone's here!_ Without a sound, he motioned Appa back down to the ground and dove toward the women as well. He landed with a whisper, but both women looked behind them to see him at once. "What is it?" Toph asked softly, knowing he wouldn't have returned so soon unless he'd spotted something.

"It's a fire. Someone's cooking, I think. The smoke wasn't visible when I was up before. Maybe a quarter mile, the other side of the camp. We should stick together, might be seen from the air."

"This is where his command tent was," June said after a little while, gesturing toward a cleared space in the trees, "he used the largest, flattest area himself, of course. There's not much evidence of foot traffic, but with that rain there was last week, it would've mostly been hidden by now. I'd guess it's been well over a month since anyone's been here in significant numbers."

"Good for us, then," Aang said quietly, scanning the area as well, "Toph... you see anything below us? Or around?"

She tapped the ground hard with a toe and answered, "Not really. The ground's pretty soft here, so it's not very clear. It feels like a farm, like it's... it's... been _tilled_. Get out of the clearing!"

Sharing a glance, the Avatar and bounty hunter stepped back a few more feet, and with a quick gesture of her hand, the young woman threw hundreds of pounds of soil and rock, accompanied by the grass and detritus of the jungle, to the side with a crashing noise. Aang stepped back up to Toph and looked down, his eyes wide. Six feet below them was a stone formation, vaguely resembling a tomb entrance. It was, indeed, carved with symbols he recognized as similar, at least, to the Sun Warrior's. The entrance was opened at once by his wife, revealing a stairway leading toward into the earth.

"Look," said June, pointing down into the hole, "Notice the thick dust on both sides of the stairs, but nothing anywhere near the middle? It's been used heavily in the last year. We haven't seen signs of their army moving because it's _literally_ moving underground."

Aang nodded, sharing a look of his own with his blind wife. She somehow returned it at once, and it became clear to the bounty hunter just how deep their bond was.

"We track them on the surface," the Earthbender said, "If I'm watching for it, it doesn't matter how deep they are. I'll see it. But let's go check out that smoke before we leave. Maybe it's a deserter or something, could give us information."

When the group neared the clearing, they stilled the noise of their footsteps on the jungle loam so much that even Toph had trouble hearing the two next to her. Ahead, she could just make out the mutterings of one person, a male, but couldn't quite understand what he was saying. "One man. Fifty feet, maybe. Split?"  
Aang nodded once, grasping his staff tighter and moved off to the left, June glancing once at each first, moved right, still clutching her sleeping son. Toph gave them a few minutes to get into position, then resumed quietly creeping forward.

_Snap._

The branch under Toph's foot was harder than she'd expected, and the crack had been loud enough to wake a man. Cringing at her stupidity, the Earthbender froze, expecting an attack at any moment. But as near as she could tell, the muttering had never paused. After a minute more, she continued forward.

When Aang saw the man, his cheeks began to turn red despite his now-adult age. The older gentleman... or at least, man, was naked from his ankles up, though he wore a pair of thick, Fire-Nation boots. He was throwing things into a boiling pot in rapid succession, and while the Avatar watched, he reached down to scratch himself in an awkward place, then resumed adding ingredients to... whatever it was. Gritting his teeth, the Airbender checked around for weapons, then finding none, stepped out of the trees into the small clearing.

"Ahem."

The man didn't turn, didn't react at all. At this range, Aang could hear his muttering, which was constant, but couldn't tell what he was saying. It almost sounded like a foreign language.

"Excuse me. Sir?"

Once again, there was no response. Aang stepped forward slowly, cautiously reaching out one hand to tap the man's bare shoulder.

With a screech, the old man jumped away from Aang, tripping over the pot and tumbling head over heels trying to get away. Aang watched, surprised and bemused, as the man scrabbled to get away, finally coming to rest on the opposite side of the clearing, his back against a ratty tent.

"Thray eewaifroo meeia!" the man screeched, shielding himself with is hands, "Reef meeia eeruuni!"

Toph stepped from the forest as well then, shaking her head with a disgruntled expression, "Geez, Aang, thought we were being stealthy? Scare the guy half to death..."

The young Earthbender walked calmly up to stand beside her husband, arms down with palms open and forward in the universal sign of coming in peace. Behind her, Toph heard June step from the trees as well, still carrying the sleeping baby.

The old man ahead of them continued to back up until he stumbled over a log next to his cookfire and fell backwards, narrowly missing the pit itself.  
In a flash, Aang was kneeling at the old man's side, his gentle but strong hands helping the old man to sit, while pulling him away from the fire as well. June sniggered behind her, but stopped when Toph shot her a glare. "Whatever. We're here, he knows it, let's just get on with it. You, old man. Where's Zhao?"

The man suddenly jerked out of the Avatar's arms and scrambled back until once again he slammed into a tree. This time he stopped, breathing heavily. Toph couldn't understand his fear until Aang suddenly whispered, "You can't hear us at all, can you?"

_Can't... hear? At all? Spirits of the Earth, what would that be _like_? How does he live, not being able to hear? Not to be able to listen to a conversation, or approaching danger, or the whispers of the Great Beneath..._ Toph was stunned. Her whole life she'd been able to hear practically _everything_, and she simply couldn't wrap her mind around the reality of it, couldn't fathom the man's _blindness_.

"Come here, love, you too June. Let's offer him some of our food, sit down and have lunch, and see if we can get him to calm down. We just have to show him we aren't a threat."

Aang sat down on the ground across the fire from where the man was cowering, and reached into his backpack to place a little food on the log the man used for sitting. Toph, still in a daze, came and sat next to him, staring with unseeing eyes into the fire. The bounty hunter, however, was a little more wary. "It could be a trap. An act. He's wearing Zhao's colors- he was an officer, unless he scavenged the uniform. But it fits him too well, tattered rags or no."

He glanced again at the old man out of the corner of his eye, but shrugged, motioning for her to sit on his other side again, "He may have been, but he isn't now. Zhao... wouldn't let a deaf man stay in his army, much less as an officer. He'd think it made the man useless. It's no wonder he was left behind... or ran away on his own."

Not quite convinced, but unable to think of a better argument, the tall woman slowly sat next to him and turned her attention to the now-waking baby in her arms.

"He's hungry," Toph said after a few minutes of listening to the old man quake against the tree a few yards away, "you should feed him. It might put him more at ease, and I know I want some food too," her stomach grumbling loudly mid-sentence.

Aang chuckled, pulling out his whistle to signal Appa, who was carrying the majority of their supplies.

Eventually the man relaxed enough to join them, but his eyes remained wary until June threw a blanket over herself to begin nursing Naoe. At first, both Aang and the old man blushed, but it seemed to convince the man that they meant him no harm at last, because a few minutes after she'd begun, he stood slowly and limped- on his right foot- over to a small pile of belongings, bringing out a scroll of parchment and a quill with a small bottle of ink.

_I am Lu Shin Song._

The Avatar nodded politely, showing the message as well to the women, who repeated the gesture, June somewhat grudgingly. _I am the Avatar, Aang. This is my wife, Toph, ← and our friend, June. → The baby is Naoe._

The old man smiled at last, and the last vestiges of nervousness seemed to fall away, though he kept his eyes on Aang with an awed expression on his face as he wrote again, _Why are you here?_

This time, Aang wrote, _We are hunting a man. His name is Zhao, an exile from the Fire Nation. You wear his colors._

The man grew a little paler at the last line, but recovered quickly, shaking his head as he wrote a reply, _I follow him no longer. I was cast out, betrayed by him and by my son, Lu Shin Sing. His mother would be so ashamed... of both of us._

Aang was silent for a while, contemplating his reply. June quietly shifted Naoe's side and Toph stood to begin pulling supplies off of the now-landed Bison's back in preparation for their meal. Then, at last, Aang began writing again and did not stop for a while, _Zhao's crimes are too many to list. We hunt him for our own reasons, personal as well as the reasons of the Avatar. You may join us if you like. Or you may return to where you came from, or stay here. The choice is yours. You should know we won't change our course, though. One way or another, that evil man will be brought to Justice. As the Avatar, I can do no less._

After taking a few minutes to read the words, the man sat in silence for a short while, looking intently at the Avatar's earnest face and determined eyes. _I understand. I will go with you, I must face my son again and convince him of the error of his ways. The last I heard, five weeks ago now, Zhao was heading for Ba Sing Se, but I think he intends to go elsewhere soon after, that the Capitol is just a stopover. _

The remainder of the afternoon and evening were spent getting more acquainted with Song, with both June and Aang acting as translator for Toph and the old man, since she could not write and he could not hear or speak well. By nightfall, the old man had even grown comfortable with Appa's presence, and fell asleep with the others reclining against the beast's slowly heaving sides.

---

When dawn broke, Aang jumped up as was his custom, and flew once around the area to check for danger before beginning his morning exercises and preparing breakfast. When the others had woken and eaten, he handed Song a note he'd written while cooking, and told the women what he'd written as well, "I'm going to go through the tunnel- alone," he held up a hand to stop any protests, but neither Toph nor June gave one, "it makes more sense. I can cover ground faster than either of you on food, and with the old man, there's no way we could catch up to the army. I can also handle any traps or an attack better than either of you- well, the traps at least. Toph could handle an attack just as easily... or better," he said, glancing nervously towards his wife, but her expression was unusually placid, so he continued again. "When I catch up, I'll go straight up through the earth using bending, and leave a hole so we can find it again later. Then I'll meet up with you, hopefully you'll be close by, and we won't have to catch up again later. That sound good?"

Neither woman objected, though the old man wrote a few questions back and forth to Aang before he nodded his assent as well. All morning, Toph had said nothing.

_I can hear it. Another one... just one, tiny, tiny little heartbeat... our third child. Aang..._

And then, it was time to part. At the tunnel's entrance, June mounted the great Bison and helped pull the old man up after her, giving Toph and Aang a few moment's peace. It was only then that she spoke.  
"Look, Twinkletoes... I won't ask you to be careful, because I know you won't. I won't say you'd better not be reckless, because you can't help it. But you'd better come back. I need you. Our kids need you. All three."


	4. Chapter 4: Puzzles in the dark

**A/N:** So, I have some bad news and some good news- and some in between.  
Good: I'm updating/finishing Falling Rain before I post anything else. (Most likely)

Bad: This chapter is 'much' shorter than I had originally planned. But I got lazy, and stopped thinking of traps to throw at Aang- especially since I let him figure out how to get around all of them with the first big one. :P

Not so bad, still not good: I don't know exactly when I'll be updating next, but this 'is' my main and only project now. (I'm still writing other things once in a while, but this is the one I'm focusing on)

Not as good as I'd like it to be: I'm working much more than I'd like to be, but just barely scraping by money-wise. Unfortunately, that means I can't write as much as I'd like, either. But sooner or later... this story'll be done.

Gray news: Plot-wise, it's just about over. Zhao's in the camp along with his army, and they're about to get a beat-down. (But from who remains to be seen... by you, at least) That being said, the battle will probably take a couple of chapters, or one long one, and then there'll be a few more to tie up loose ends. One long one, at the least.

Great news: The next chapter is also mostly written. But I still can't promise when it'll come up. But at least you have some for now, right? :)

**Chap. 4** **Puzzles in the dark**

In Avatar Aang, last of the Airbender's humble opinion, this was taking _entirely too long_. Racing forward with the speed of the wind, he should have been able to overtake the crawling speed of an army forced to move underground- even if the tunnels were wide enough for twenty men to walk abreast- in less than two days. But by his calculations (judging by how often he'd slept), the young man had been in the long, almost unbroken tunnel following after the traitorous army for over a week.

_And I bet Toph's furious. She'll probably knock me out again before I get a 'welcome back' hug. And I'd deserve it, too. I can't believe this!_

Of course, there was little he could do. No sooner had he dashed off after his wife had sealed him in, the way illuminated by lichen and fungus, and the occasional use of his bottled Light Bugs (harvested very carefully and cared for even more carefully from the Cave of Two Lovers a two years before), than the first of _many_ traps had been sprung. That first he'd barely escaped with his skin intact, a judicious- and lucky- super-powered burst of air from his mouth had pushed the fireball backwards, and a quick sphere of stone created around him immediately afterwards had kept the flames from returning until the gas, or whatever it was that had powered the trap, had run out.

_But that wasn't the last._

Indeed, Aang had run into at least twelve traps a day, each one cunning in it's design, and almost unnoticeable unless he spent great care watching the ground, ceiling, and walls of the tunnel as he went. And it was _that_, combined with the delay in figuring out how to get past some of the traps, which was taking all the time.

And of course, this particular trap.

He'd been standing here for what felt like hours, watching, waiting, looking for a way through. But it seemed impossible.

In essence, the trap itself was simple. Every few seconds, one of the blades would sweep across the corridor from top to bottom along it's narrow path. That, in itself, should have been easy for an agile man- much less a master Airbender- to navigate. Even many blades, stretched out across thirty feet, or so, should have been doable if he was careful.

This trap, though, took that basic idea and turned it into a behemoth of deadly edges. Instead of a few blades, there were what looked like a hundred or more, though they were moving so rapidly and the mixture was so dense that it was impossible to get an accurate count. As well, they were moving from side to side, in both directions, and up and down, as well. To make matters worse, every once in a while, it looked like some of the blades moved diagonally, as well.

_And there's no way through! Every time I see an opening, it closes. Every time I think I see a pattern, it changes. And there's just so _many_! How am I supposed to get through this? I could just Airbend my way through, destroy all the blades as they come. I could use _any_ element to do that. But that'd alert them to my presence for sure. They have to have left some kind of sentry, or machine, or something to watch their backs besides all these traps. And how did the traps get here, anyway? They're all built into the walls. There's no way Zhao's men put them here, not with this kind of craftsmanship, not in a hurry. I don't understand this at all!_

The Avatar continued to stare at the blades for another hour or two, until his frustration finally broke through his monumental self discipline. "Monkeyfeathers!"

While most would consider the word laughable as an oath, for the mild-mannered young man, it was about as vehement an objection to the state of the world as you could get. He pulled one hand back and cocked his half-open glider, and prepared to send a gale powerful enough to shred the entire trap down the corridor, when it hit him.

_I'm... thinking like an Earthbender. I don't have to force my way through the trap... I can just go around! How? Using Earthbending, of course! An Airbender must think like an Earthbender, but an Earthbender must also think like an Airbender..._

Aang looked down with a faint smile while the ground below him sank in a circle, allowing him to descend into the floor.

* * *

On the surface, Toph and June were having problems of a different sort. A messenger hawk had arrived the day before, having apparently flown around half of the Earth Kingdom looking for the giant Sky Bison. The message had been short, almost perfunctory, but it's message all to clear.  
_Avatar, Lady Toph._

_We have a problem. Open revolt has begun in the Fire Nation, and there is fighting in the streets. My spies and agents report that similar events are happening throughout the world. Zhao has broken the agreement and attacked early. Please, send word. Tell me what you want me to do._

_-Zuko, Firelord_

On the one hand, they still hadn't heard from Aang. And while Toph (and June) had little doubt they would be appreciated in helping to maintain peace wherever they went, if asked, doing so without the Avatar's presence or blessing could be disastrous at worst. Even an act of war. As well, Toph missed her husband and wanted him by her side. Almost as much as she wanted to see her twins again.

On the other, like Aang, both women felt they had a duty to do their part in ending the conflict. The Earthbender, because that's who she was. As a person, the wife of the Avatar, a mother, an Earthbending master. For the former Bounty Hunter, it was a way to make amends for the decisions in her life she'd come to regret. Unfortunately, both had too many reasons to go, and too many reasons to stay, as they continued to fly north under the night sky.

"It's been nine days, Toph," the taller woman was saying, sprawled out across the front of Appa's saddle, yelling forward to her companion, ignoring the old man sleeping below her, "We can't keep searching forever. When he comes out, he'll find us."

But Toph ignored her, just as she'd done every time June had said something along those lines. _I won't break the plan. Aang said he'd show up, and every time we land I can still feel the tunnel beneath us if I look. So he's here. He's either gotten ahead of, or behind us. But sooner or later we'll meed up._

After the dazzling, full moon had finally set behind the western mountains leading toward Omashu, the two women switched places, the bounty hunter now fully capable of directing Appa. Like Aang and Toph, he now trusted the woman completely, and for her part, she'd always had a particular skill with and fondness for animals many times larger than she was. _Might have to get me a Sky Bison if I ever get another pet..._

The bounty hunter was shaken from her reverie when the crested the last mountain in the chain to see a sea of stars below her. She pulled Appa's reigns and whispered, "Hold on there, big guy," and then back to Toph as loudly as she could and maintain a whisper, "Toph! What's that?"

The sleepy woman's voice floated up to the front immediately, "I don't _know_, June. I can't see it. What do you think it is?"

She was a long time answering.

"Campfires. We've found Zhao, but there's still no sign of Aang."

**A/N2:** So... in closing, I have to apologize (again) for the long wait between updates. At the first, I just had no/little inspiration, then I got distracted by work, then got distracted by my Naruto story _Late Blossoms_, (set 6-years post-Shippuden, a Saku x Naru x Hina story) which quickly reached epic length. It's longer now than all three of these will be at completion, most likely, topping 640 novel-spaced pages. On the upside of that, it's done- and some of my best work ever.

So, sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry, I'll try to do better next time, master/mistress, please don't hate me- and I'll (hopefully) be seeing you soon.  
Until then, thanks for reading and reviewing- and your patience. :)


	5. Chapter 5: Lonely Assault

**A/N:** As always, don't own Avatar. Probably never will. Make no profit from it, only write in the world and with (a version of) the characters for fun and entertainment of myself and others.

Enjoy, the climax is fast approaching- and yes, it's going to be epic(ish). :)

**Chap. 5 Lonely Assault**

It had taken a lot of work for the young Earthbender to convince the ex-bounty hunter to let her attack alone. In June's opinion, it would simply be too dangerous to move in without backup. The taller woman had even resorted to pulling the 'what would Aang or you kids do if you got hurt or killed?' card, but to no avail.

For her part, Toph was bound and determined to move in. She knew Aang wouldn't want to kill, would avoid it all all costs- just like he had for most of his life. She, however, had fewer compunctions about it. She was no homicidal maniac, of course, but these men had- by virtue of their continued service to Zhao- announced to the world that they would kill Aang, Toph, and their children if possible, placing them forever beyond redemption in the young woman's eyes.  
"No, June, I'm going and that's final. You actually have to protect Naoe, my children are safe with my parents. I'm going in, and you're staying. That's that."

"But-"

"_No_, I said," Toph cried out again, forgetting that they were trying to be stealthy in her frustration, "Listen... I'm not joking when I say I'm the greatest Earthbender in the world. And I've had a _lot_ of practice going up against Firebenders. There's only... oh, six thousand or so. I can handle this just fine. There won't be a scratch on me, and when I come back later, you'll be furious that I went even though you said otherwise, and when Aang finds us, he'll be mad at me... but it'll be over. None of us will have to worry about our children."  
"I'm not worried about Naoe," the taller woman replied, her voice trembling with urgency despite her near-whisper, "I'm more worried about what they'll do to you to get to Aang! He's the Avatar, the key to all of this. If they take him out..."

"They won't," Toph said, her voice deadly calm, "after tonight, there won't be any of them left. I don't care how Zhao supposedly lived even though the Ocean Spirit didn't kill him when everyone thought he was dead. I'm going to grind his bones to dust, while he's still breathing if necessary, and then bury him down in the _planet's core_ if I have to. He's _not_ coming back to threaten me and mine again."

When June drew in another breath to continue protesting, Toph sunk her four feet into the soft ground with a twitch of a finger, "I'll let you dig yourself out, but by then, I'll already be in the camp. Just... let me do this, okay? Aang or I will come get you and Appa later, either of us can find him if we need to. In fact... you'd better stay with Appa, on him if possible. If Aang calls him with the whistle, he'll take off pretty quick."  
After that last instruction, the shorter woman crouched low and began to slink through the underbrush, doing her best to ignore the curse-scattered warnings and imprecations of her new friend. _Friend? Yeah... I like this lady. She's got spunk!_ _I can call her a friend... unless she kills me after this._

That last brought a small grin to Toph's face, the only sign that she wasn't giving the upcoming attack- unbalanced though it was- it's full due of worry.

* * *

Without preamble, without warning, there was a tall, stately-looking old man, tinged in blue, walking down the wide tunnel next to the exhausted Avatar.

"Aang." The voice was deep, soothing, a little rough, but cultured still.

"Avatar... Roku?" For his part, the current Avatar's eyes widened in surprise. It had been a long time, nearly five years, since his predecessor had spoken to him out of the past and their shared soul.

"This quest will fail."

That, though, Aang could not believe. "What... what do you mean, it'll fail? We can stop Zhao, and then there'll be peace! He's the only threat left!"

"No, Aang," Roku replied sadly, "he is not the only threat. Zhao is... a man. If he dies, his soul will eventually be reincarnated, just as all souls are. Maybe he will be a good man, maybe he will not. But he is stil just a man."

"I... don't understand," Aang said, scratching his head tiredly.

The former Avatar gave a faint smile and continued walking for a time, composing it's thoughts, "A man can change the world with every breath and action. And it can be born, live, and die without changing anything of significance. But an emotion, a state of mind, a state of being... those... are powerful."

"... uh..."

Roku shook his head slowly, still grinning as he looked up at the stars. Though how he could see them through unknown amounts of dirt and rock, Aang would never know. "The reason, Aang, I'm talking about the reason. The reason he hates you, the reason why he wants you to suffer. Why he wants the world to be at war, why, why, why... surely, you can guess? Or you know?"

Aang walked on, the staff-glider thumping on the stone floor much as it had for the last... days? Hours? Minutes? Since the last trap, the last interruption of his thoughts. "I... is it... greed? Lust for power? Jealousy? I mean... it could be so many things..."  
"Yes, Aang, it could. But all of those come from just one thing... fear."

"Fear? I don't..."

"I think you do, Aang," Roku said, and stopped walking then. "I think you are all too familiar with that emotion, as well. You love your wife, your children. This entire world. You fear their death, their pain, their destruction... the Avatars have always known fear. But we do our best to rise above it."

Aang nodded, "I guess, yeah. I mean, I was terrified of Ozai, of Azula. But we won, we were able to beat them because we stood up and fought anyway."

Roku nodded, and continued walking again. "Now, Aang, can you tell me how you would kill fear, so that it never rears it's head again, causing all of this pain?"

Aang was lost so deeply in thought, for so long, that he didn't notice Roku's fading disappearance beside him until he was already gone. "I think... you can't kill fear. It'll always be there. You just have to fight it whenever it shows up. So my quest to stop Zhao may succeed, but I can't win forever. There will always be people that need help getting past their fear... is that right, Roku? … Avatar Roku? Hello?"

But the quiet voice only echoed through the cold darkness.

With a sigh, Aang continued walking, his thoughts growing darker all the while.  
But as he went, there was one, small glimmer of hope.

* * *

It didn't take much for Toph to break through the pickets almost undetected. A palm-down push of a single hand per soldier she found dropped each one into a pit created on the spot, most of them without more than a gasp of surprise. Only one had the presence or shock to actually cry out, but the noise was so short that anyone hearing it would have likely mistaken it for an owl or sea-bird in the light woods nearing the northern shore.

Each of those pits had quickly been filled with their original dirt and earth from the top down, the Earthbender compressing the element down so that not a single bump in the ground would be felt, returning each spot to as close as she could get it to the original state. Beneath the surface, she used the force of her powerful Bending and the earth itself to grind each of the traitorous Fire Nation soldiers into mulch. _Fitting end... trash and garbage can still be recycled into something useful. Maybe these scum will be reincarnated as worms to feed on their former corpses in the next life._

She was now at the edge of the camp, her green and yellow outfit replaced with one of June's smallest. It fit a little loosely on her still, but the boots and cuffs were snug enough that she didn't need extra strapping or a belt to hold them on. The large wild rose she was hiding both behind and partially under hid her almost completely in the darkness. Of course, to Toph, it wouldn't have made any difference. But she wasn't entirely stupid, and knew that she could be seen and put to death with something so simple as an arrow if she was unprepared.

_That's probably why June was so worried about this plan_, Toph mused for a few moments while waiting for an opportunity to arise, _she knows one slip-up and I'm toast... but I won't screw this up. It's too imporant._

And then, with little warning, _there_. The casual footfalls of several armed and armored men swept past, many of them laughing, the smell of alcohol biting into her sensitive nose. _Smells like the party's started early tonight. In about thirty seconds..._

The first, primary attack was devastating. Camped as they were on the foothills of a great mountain range, it was a relatively simple matter for Toph to send a flowing, churning wave of boulders, dirt, and sand, towering twenty feet overhead and three hundred feet or more long, crashing into the organized, mostly-disciplined camp.

The line of destruction had barely been noticed when a second, similar but slightly smaller wave crashed into the camp from the same direction but at a different angle, and then a third into another. And just like that, without a care about the lives she'd ended so quickly, Toph grinned. _There's a quarter of the camp taken out. Let's see how smart they are..._

When the shouts reached her ears, "They came from over there! No, by that big rose bush! Yes, there!"

she grinned even more fiercely. _Let's see what you've got, traitors! _

For the first few minutes, maybe an hour, it seemed the horde of enemy soldiers and Firebenders wouldn't even come close to scratching the young woman. For every step the mass of humanity took toward her, a dozen of them were cast down from their arrogant perches. Hopes for the future were dashed with each crushing blow of granite, limestone, marble and slate. Families-to-be were removed from the course of history before they began or at their earliest stage, and still the mighty Toph did not regret. _Serves these bastards right for what they've done! What they are _going_ to do! Well, if Aang's not here, I'll stop them for him! I'll be his arms, his weapon, and his shield if he's not around- I'll protect him and all three of our children, all our friends, and the whole world until he shows up._

The first siege engine was a catapult, the flaming sphere missed her by ten feet, slamming into closest press of soldiers behind her. At first, she relished the screams- until the sudden danger set in. _Aw crap! If they're willing to use their big toys in the middle of their own army... I might be in trouble._

A few moments later, the only sign she had that another fireball was incoming was the scattering of the troops in her vicinity. But as easily as she could track their movements, even the lot of them at once, it was much harder to analyze the trajectory based only on that. The ceramic ball filled with oil shattered mere feet to Toph's left, spraying her with flame. Only her quick thinking doused the flames before they caused serious injury; she quickly smothered them with a thin layer of dirt encasing herself and the area around her. Even so, she couldn't stop the scream from the sudden pain.

Through the agony, Toph could still hear that the enemy forces were withdrawing, more organized as time passed. _Damn... more incoming... I might need to move..._

With a thought and a shake of her hands, the very earth beneath the young woman parted momentarily and swallowed her up before closing again over her head.

_Now their feet are coming in... are they shouting for the incoming fire to stop? That's what it sounds like..._

_Maybe June was right. I should have waited for Aang. I can't stay down here forever, there isn't much air... and if I move, they can probably track me either by listening to the ground or by furrows if I'm not deep enough. But if I go too low, I could hit the tunnels and damage them- maybe with Aang still inside._

She didn't ponder long, and with a quick brush-back of her long hair and readjustment of her comb to sit more tightly on her crown, the Earthbender shot upwards diagonally, riding a stone on a ballistic arc through the air.

Even as she neared the ground (judging by the terrified screams below her), the raven-haired warrior readied her stance, and at the first tremor of impact with the surface, whirled with arms outstretched, sweeping a gathering tide of stone and soil around her in a widening maelstrom of destruction.

_This is a trick I might need to remember... assuming I get out of this._

That was the first time since she'd begun her solo attack that Toph had actually allowed herself to admit the possibility. _But seriously... what in the Great Beneath was I _thinking_? Aang's gonna kill me if they don't!_

* * *

Elsewhere, the young Avatar was having very different problems. Before him, two nearly-identical tunnels, both with tracks of many metal-shod boots tramping through the dust stretched before him. The left path was, to his keen eyes, slightly narrower and taller, but only an inch or two at most across it's twenty-foot width. The right path was, of course, a few inches wider and lower. But both of them still had many, many tracks going down them. _Which... which way? I can't hear them, even though I should be getting close. I can't see them, I can't tell the difference between the prints... Maybe if Toph were down here she could see._

Without preamble, without thinking about the possible results of his actions, Aang suddenly thrust himself upward on a pillar of stone, arms stretched over head to clear the path through the earth above him.

* * *

Toph's first thought when she regained consciousness was _Oh, my head..._. Her second, immediately after the first, was _Spirits Beneath- I got captured!_ Fortunately for her, aside from her head, she seemed to be uninjured. She could not, however, 'see' anything, although the woman could hear the obvious sounds of camp life around her. Toph struggled to move her toes and fingers a bit- or tried to, at any rate. She couldn't feel them at all.

"Don't worry too much, Ms. Bei Fong," a deep voice said from somewhere nearby, "We have almost no intention of harming you."

"Are you... Zhao?"

There was a soft 'harumph' before the voice responded, "You will learn to call me Lord Zhao soon enough. But I'm not here to have a battle of words with you, Ms. Bei Fong, so don't bother. I'm only here to ask one question, and tell you one thing."

He took her silence as tacit agreement, and asked, "Where is the Avatar?" in a voice that was both cajoling and threatening at the same time.  
For a while, the Earthbender didn't answer, but she couldn't see any harm in telling him the truth- at least, some of it. "I don't know. I haven't seen him since he found out I was pregnant again."

The sharp intake of breath across the room told her that her enemy had seen an angle the mother hadn't. "Your third child, is it not?"

_Damn!_

"I see," he continued, "Well, if I know the boy, he will be here to rescue you as soon as he hears you're in our custody. So all I need to do is wait. Now... on to what I need to let you know. Your life is in _my_ hands. I don't care how powerful you are, I don't care how strong your husband is. If I give the word, you die. If I die, you die. You see, your life has been tied to mine by the poison we injected into your system when you first were brought down. Your life is kept going by regular doses of the antidote. Without those, which you will only get by my continued grace, of course, you stay alive, the poison dormant. If you don't get a dose every twelve hours, well... you die. Horribly, painfully, and in full, screaming agony. Sounds fun, right?"

The man bent low over the sitting woman and whispered in her ear, the thick whiskers on the side of his head scratching her cheek, "Also, you seem to be incredibly... well, no matter," and withdrew to a full standing position again, "you'll find out soon enough when I make my decision."

Then, without another word, he swept from the chamber, ignoring Toph's sudden cry, "How... deep... is the wood?"

**A/N2:** Thanks as always for reading and most importantly for hitting the little green 'review' button and leaving at least a couple of words. Encouragement=Faster updates for everyone. :)

It's really not that big a problem, I promise- I review almost everything I read at least once. Give it a shot. :D

No 'hard' info on when the next chapter will be up, but the plan for the last battle is formulating in my head, it's just a matter of getting there. (And letting it simmer a little longer)

R&R plox. :)


	6. Chapter 6: The Darkest Hour

**A/N:** As always, don't own Avatar. Probably never will. Make no profit from it, only write in the world and with (a version of) the characters for fun and entertainment of myself and others.

**Chap. 6 The darkest hour**

There was no way Aang could have known what was over him when he was so deep in the tunnels, no way he could have predicted exactly when he'd break free, or that just four feet off of the ground, his now-fuzzy head would strike a metal object so hard he lost consciousness, the sounds of many surprised men barely audible through the ringing in his ears as he slumped down into the deep hole left by his passage.

When the young man came too, he wasn't sure at first if he was actually awake. Only the powerful throbbing in his ears, that grew alternately louder and softer with every _thump-thud, thump-thud_ of his heart.

"Ah, finally you join us, Aang."

… _Monkeyfeathers again! How did I... how come I can't _move_?!_

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," the all-too-familiar voice said with the hint of laughter, "You really _are_ moving, just a little. It's a bit of shirshu venom, that's all. We've got enough to keep you paralyzed for a few more days, though we need to be careful... a bit too much and you won't be able to breathe, or your heart will stop. So don't... make our physician slip. You'll cooperate, right Avatar?"

He said nothing. _I... Zhao! That bastard... and I can't count on Toph or June, either, because they are probably far ahead of us. When did he... and what's going on? How come he hasn't just killed me yet? He knows I'm not going to give up._

"I can see it all, Avatar. Every thought going through your head. Let's just say I have my reasons for keeping you alive- for now. And no, your backup isn't coming. In fact, we already have her in a tent across the camp."

There was a moment of stillness in the slender young man's form before the muscles started quivering violently with anger, making the older man laugh out loud. "Oh, Avatar... don't worry, your young wife is safe and unharmed. I've no intention of doing anything to her if I get your cooperation. If I don't... well... she'll have her uses in the future, I'm sure."

Suddenly, Aang could feel the other man's hot breath on his neck as he leaned in close behind him to whisper, "I can see why you're taken with her. She's a little young for me, but I might be interested in having a new plaything after she's done mourning you."

This time, the shaking stopped at once, the fury in the Avatar bringing clarity at last.

_He can't hurt me yet, he doesn't dare. He'll control me and keep me alive as long as he can- but kill me if I try to escape. He'll only hurt Toph if I don't help him... so she's all right, for now at least. I should be able to get him to show me that she's all right. He'll probably make me swear not to make a sound, even gag me, so she doesn't realize she' s so close. He's not that dumb after all. But I don't... I still don't understand how she got caught._

"I'm going to go see to my men, Avatar. I want you to think on what's most important to you. Your wife and children, or nameless people you'll never meet. Because yes, I'm a killer, yes, I'm 'evil', and I have every intention of bringing this world to it's knees. But I would prefer to do it with as little bloodshed as possible, and your backing would go a long way toward that."

* * *

For seven days, by his count, the Avatar was kept blindfolded, gagged, and for the most part, paralyzed. He was allowed a tiny range of movement twice a day between doses to relieve himself, bound tightly the whole while. As for food and water, that he was fed by a number of soldiers, who seemed either deaf or instructed to pretend to be, for all the response they gave his whispered urgings to set him free. Every day, the now-graying mustache of Zhao would enter the tent with new word of another city having fallen to his troops, more men arriving to join his forces, or some minor setback such as the walls of Omashu proving more formidable than they'd been when the mighty Bumi was alive.

"Ah, Avatar," he said entering the tent just as he'd done every day of Aang's captivity so far, "I have some good news for you. Your friend, the usurper Zuko has reportedly left the Fire Nation and is on his way to Ba Sing Se with four thousand loyal troops. Bato of the Southern Water Tribe is leading four hundred men already on their way, and there are rumors the Northern Tribe will be sending support as well. It seems kind of silly to me, how desperate they are to cling to their old ways of violence and pain when all I'm trying to do is show them a better way, a better world."

_No! You aren't!_

But Aang's mind was beginning to get tired of the argument. The surety with which the older man spoke, the natural charisma he had always had was now tempered with something that Aang had either missed or hadn't been present nearly eight years ago when the Avatar had first met the then-Admiral. Something... different than a normal human.

* * *

He no longer knew, no longer cared, how long he'd been sitting on the chair he currently occupied. It was a long time, so long that his memories of being elsewhere, of even moving casually were rapidly fading into the darkness of what was left of his mind.

The only things the man truly knew for certain were these: He was never getting out of here, never going to see the stars or clouds, feel the sun on his face, embrace his wife... whatever her name had been, whatever she had looked like. Never hold his young children. _Were they still young?_

It had taken a long time, he knew, to break him. He knew that as surely as he knew that he was, in fact, broken.

The confidence that had not defined his life so much as emphasized it was gone, replaced by apathy. His kindness was still there, in a sense, but only because it was more work to argue than to do what was asked of him.

As for his physical state... it was much better than his mental condition.  
The young man was fed, five times daily, at regular intervals. His sleep was carefully, but unknowingly to him at least, regulated so that he had exactly 1.4 sleep cycles every day. And exactly once per sleep cycle, regardless of the real time in the outside world, the man known as Zhao would join him for what he always called 'lunch'. He was even made to exercise, which had been a chore at first but as his apathy and unwillingness to argue made itself more manifest, he had eventually begun to do so as soon as his 'trainer' entered the tent.

All of this was a slow, simple, but surprisingly effective way to speed the process of breaking the young man's mind so thoroughly that any attempt at self-motivation, even conscious thinking, would quickly fail and be subsumed by the utter lack of _caring_ being conditioned into him.

For his part, the former Admiral seemed quite pleased with the progress he and his men were making in turning the 'Avatar' into a willing puppet. After all, the Avatar was a servant of the world and it's peace, a guardian of all and promoter of order.

And what greater ally for the Avatar and his goals than the man who had sworn an oath so powerful, so binding, that the spirits- and even Death itself- honored it and obeyed him in his quest to bring peace and order to a ravaged, violent world?

* * *

Elsewhere but nearby, a young woman was having an entirely different form of torture used against her. It was still slow and methodical; the one giving the order had no need to rush. Instead, he would be thorough and complete, and make sure that she would never be able to undo the process.

Unfortunately, for Zhao, that process had been a failure from the beginning, though the woman pretended otherwise.

At first, she had truly resisted the subtle urging, the light caresses of the animals kept in her cage, the oh-so-quiet whispers of the secret things men and women did in the safety of their homes, and even the more overt teasing and innuendo of her most hated enemy.

But when it became apparent that despite all her will to the contrary, she could not control her body to that extent. The butterflies, moths, or whatever the creatures were that constantly fluttered with oh-so-delicate touches up and down her nearly-naked body, combined with the voices she could just barely hear- even with her enhanced hearing- reading those pillow books, were more than enough to drive her body into a frenzy of arousal.  
Fortunately for her, though, she had already experienced a lover as skilled- or more so- than anything being read to her, had been brought to heights of pleasure with touches even lighter than the insects or animals. The very air itself had made her moan and scream without her lover even touching her. _And so what is this? Yes, I'm excited, it does feel good, and I'm only human. But it's not _him_. It's not Aang. And I'll die before I let anyone else touch me like that, no matter who it is. Zhao? He's just a monster, pretending to be otherwise._

_So I can pretend. I can slowly let it seem that I'm giving in, going crazy with the need for release... and when it seems I am, he'll come into my cage and try to take me. He'll think that I'm so aroused I won't be able to stop myself, and that knowledge will break me even further. It's probably something like this he used on June... maybe. _

_But I'm not her. He'll be wearing something, armor or even a belt buckle. When I get my hands on it- because he won't be expecting it- I'll shape it fast and cut his throat. And make _sure_ he's dead._

Or such was Toph's plan, after all.

But as she would learn in the space of a few more days' time, even the most carefully laid plans have a habit of failing when they meet an intelligent enemy's plans.

* * *

"Are you ready to fight now, Avatar? Ready to end the problems of this world?"

The gray eyes opened slowly, and the tall, graying man was pleased to see a fire in his eyes that he'd buried deep. "Yes, Lord Zhao."

"Excellent. We move at dawn tomorrow. I'd get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us."

The Avatar, freshly shaved and washed, nodded once and moved immediately to the small cot of his tent and lay down as the other man was letting the tent flap fall behind him.

A few minutes later, he entered another, more solid, structure and looked on it's occupant with a smile. Her clothing was drenched between her legs, even down her front of the drool she uncaringly let fall in her excitement. Her pants were constant, irregular. _She's close... time to back off for a while._

"Ah, Toph. So nice to see you again."

"Go... to hell... you... bastard..."

His smile grew at the need and longing, still laced with hate, in her voice. _Yes... she'll be allowed to see the men as we move. I'll make sure her bearers are quite visible. So many big, strong men around and in full view should be plenty to keep her going in this state. And their own looks at her will be... more than adequate to keep her thinking about it. _

_I think when we arrive tomorrow night, I'll do it then... I _must_ have a child before this body fails. And she is certainly strong, able to bear strong children. I don't think I could have found better._

* * *

When the army ceased it's movement for the night, the temporary camp was set up and completed within an hour. They had been pushed mercilessly, but had made better time than their commanders had anticipated, and they were allowed to rest before the sun had completed setting.  
For Toph, the day had been excruciating- in many ways. She had been bound, for one, even tighter than she had been in her cage. Each finger had been separated from the others. Not enough to hurt for a long time, but enough so that she couldn't bring them together, couldn't even twitch them, much less run them up and down her body as she had ached to do for... however long it had been, now.

But the sight, deliberate, she was sure, of the half-dressed, powerfully-built men who had escorted her throughout the day combined with the rhythmic jostling of her cage as they carried it had kept her dangerously close to losing control. _If I had given in and let myself... well... he would probably have won. But I'm not giving him the satisfaction. When he comes in tonight, I'll be ready..._

In fact, she already was. Despite her heart pounding with constant arousal, her mind was focused on anything _but_ sexual release at the time._ He's bound me so tight I can't move anything but my eyes and... that. I can't metalbend like this, and I'm sure he'll just mount me with me still bound. He's not _that_ dumb. But he's still missed one, small detail... a very powerful muscle._

**A/N2:** Just reposted this to clear up an error I made- Zhao mentioning to Aang that he wants to give Toph to his son. Was never intended to be that way- in fact, Zhao wants Toph for himself to _get_ a son, as is stated later. Sorry.


	7. Chapter 7: A Shadow Revealed

**A/N:** As always, don't own Avatar. Probably never will. Make no profit from it, only write in the world and with (a version of) the characters for fun and entertainment of myself and others.

Just a couple of chapters left- as the title suggests, this is the "Big Reveal". Don't skip down to the end- the build-up is worth it. :D

**Chap. 7 A Shadow Revealed**

It was the first explosion and accompanying screams that finally allowed Toph to break the chains of despair she had been fighting since she had awoken.

_Four weeks. One month. I've been in Zhao's champ for thirty-two days. I have to get out of here _now_, before I break._

And so the Earthbender struggled.

Against her physical bonds, which had grown no more lax despite the length of her captivity.

Against the fear that she would never be free, never escape, never be rescued.

And most of all, against the crushing depression that had it's root in knowing that _something_ had happened to Aang. _He would have been here by now if he was coming. I... I need to get out of here. I need to find our babies, and protect this newest one._

As the second and third explosions occurred, it was that burning desire to protect her unborn child- and by extension, herself- that shocked her awareness to a whole new level.

_It's just wood. But the supports are metal, and the spikes of the tent. And there _has_ to be earth underneath. I _can_ escape! If I can just move a tiny finger with enough force..._

Her fingers, even her toes, though, were bound too tightly to even twitch. Her head, as well, was strapped to a backboard, which in tern was secured tightly to the wooden cage itself. But after the first four minutes of struggling, it occurred to Toph that there was one very strong muscle left unsecured. It had even been Zhao, laughing at one of her scathing insults, that had given her the idea._ 'That powerful tongue of yours will get you in trouble some day', he said. Well... I think it's going to get me _out_ of trouble today!_

It was slow, time-consuming, and tiring to flex the muscle up and down inside her mouth, over and over, building just a tiny bit of energy each time. It was even more exhausting to try and move the earth below her when she wasn't even sure _where_ it was. The echoes of Zhao's approaching footprints that morning had been on the ground, yes, but she hadn't been able to see when he'd come in due to the darkness, and had no idea if she was elevated or not- or by how much.

However, that didn't matter in the end- the earth was _there_, somewhere, and given enough effort, it would respond to her call- like it always did.

The explosions continued erratically for an unknown amount of time as the dim line of light let through the tent flap grew brighter and brighter.

And then, suddenly, it was _there_. The clod of dirt wasn't very large, maybe an inch or so across, but the sharp 'whap' it made on impact with the bottom of the wooden cage broadcast all she needed to know about her environment.

With a single, last sharp tug of her tongue upwards, the clod shattered through the bottom of the cage and landed in her hand.

_Freedom!_

Taking another lesson learned long ago from tales of how Aang and Katara had brought down the Fire Nation's great Drill in the second Battle of Ba Sing Se, Toph's will and the convulsions- half unconscious- of her palm and tongue shaped the dirt into a small, compact blade which immediately began to saw back and forth through the ropes twining between her left fingers.

It only took moments, but to Toph's eager mind, further spurred by the sounds of battle, it was an eternity before the ropes parted, allowing her first two fingers free.

After that, though, it moved quickly as those fingers brought another two patches of dirt up and began freeing the rest, and then her whole arm was free. After that, it was more a matter of simply using her long-practiced strength and ability to demolish the cage and all of the devices containing her in one fell swoop.

Moments afterwards, she was encased in a two-inch think layer of stone, the tent spikes and nails in a nearby table embedded in it, pointing outwards at her shoulders, knees, elbows, and most prominently, her stone-covered fists.

_Screw rock armor. I'm a rock _weapon!

And with that, the young woman strode confidently outside the remains of the tent into a swarm of enemies, who began to fall to the attack from behind at once.

* * *

Things were not going as well as the army's commanding officer had hoped. For one thing, their 'surprise attack' had seemed to be all-to-well planned for. Seventeen miles- just under two days for an army- from Gaoling city, the allied army had come across the lead scouts of the group they were attacking.

"You, Captain Ran! Take your men over and reinforce the Second! They're getting hammered! Lieutenant- _Lieutenant Tsuko! _Ah, there you are. Take this message to Sergeant Handdoku at once. Go!"

An old man walked up behind him and put one large, liver-spot covered hand on the golden flanges of his armor and said in a deep, calm voice, "You're doing very well, Fire Lord Zuko. Even if they knew we were coming, we have the manpower and strategy necessary to carry the victory today."

"I know, Uncle. Thank you. But I don't want to just have victory today. I want victory _today_, and I want it _over_. After Aang and Toph disappeared... we have to make sure it ends now. No matter what, Zhao must be stopped."

* * *

Elsewhere, but closer to Toph then Zuko, the former Admiral Zhao entered a tent deep in his camp with a small amount of tension evident in his shoulders.  
"Avatar. It's time. Are you ready to do your duty and bring peace to the world at last?"

The newly-shaven face raised to meet the taller man's, and there was steel in the grey eyes. "I'm ready."

"Excellent. The enemies of peace have attacked in a misbegotten attempt to destroy us before we can begin our righteous campaign. We are holding our own for now, but their numbers are a problem. We need your help against their general. If he can be silenced..."

Aang stood in one smooth motion and bowed with his hands together to the other man, "It will be done, Lord Zhao."

* * *

It was obvious to everyone present at Zuko's command tent that things were _not_ going according to plan. For one thing, a brave assault by the traitorous force had come within half a mile of their camp, which, while not a worry to Zuko or Iroh themselves, caused their underlings to worry a great deal about their leaders.

That, though, was the least of Zuko's problems. A glance upward- prompted by that sixth sense that only a hardened, veteran warrior possesses in any amount- had shown a glimpse of blue-covered flesh and yellow-and-orange, loose, flowing clothing through the thin trees, and it was growing rapidly. And heading straight for them.

That, in itself, would normally have relieved the man. But something about the other's posture- the staff he frequently carried over his shoulder like a bat, his legs poised for a hard landing instead of gliding in gracefully, perhaps- told him that this particular meeting with his enemy-turned friend may relapse the two's relationship back to the former.

"Look out!" he shouted, shoving his uncle to the right just before the Avatar landed.

* * *

The soldiers immediately surrounding her prison tent had just as much chance of surviving as did the those who fell in her first surprise attack against the camp- none. Hearing every sound, every heartbeat, and every movement surrounding her, even with the louder sounds of explosions and combat further off, was a huge advantage for the young woman- as was her innate power, and the skill taught to her by a family of Badgermoles all those years ago.

However, there was one further significant factor in how little chance the soldiers and Firebenders had of surviving. Unlike the Toph of seven or eight years ago, unlike the Toph who had just assaulted their base camp... however long ago it had been, _this_ Toph only had one goal: Reaching and rescuing her husband by the fastest, shortest path possible.

Where once the woman might have- probably would have- reveled in the combat, in her superiority as a bender, and the sheer power she could bring to bear against so many at once, this Toph did no such thing.

Instead of coming up with new, fun, or exciting ways to devastate the army, the Earthbender instead relied on just a few, basic moves- used with deadly efficiency and skill, without hardly even a conscious thought.

For every sword or spear thrust toward her, there was a sickening crunch as a wave of earth rose from between the attackers and the woman, engulfing and burying the men and women alive.

For each wave or gout of flame, there was a solid wall of stone to absorb the attack, and then that wall flew- now shaped into blades razor-thin and -sharp- into the mass of humanity surrounding her.

Before the tent flaps had finished falling back after Toph's exit, forty-six men had died.

Before most could even comprehend where the sudden attack had come from, another sixty-two had joined them.

Her ears and feet perked toward each heartbeat, each footstep for a microsecond, trying to identify her husband in the mass of vibrations.

Unfortunately, she failed. But she _did_ find the one man she wanted to see almost as much.

_Zhao!_ Her mind screamed at her to attack, to bury him, to crush him as she'd wanted to do for so long.

A massive wave of stone and dirt swept aside the soldiers and officers between the two at once, and Toph burst toward him, the very ground beneath her surging her forward as well.

* * *

Once again, Zuko's bright flames turned aside the Avatar's attack. _That was too close- I need to get my Uncle out of here!_ "Uncle! _Go!_ Take the men and retreat- I'll handle the Avatar for now!"

"But Lord Zuko, I-"

"_Go!_"

With a final, perfunctory bow, the old man signaled the officers and Fire Guard who had rushed to their Lord's defense back, leaving the two old friends to their battle.

"Aang, what's _wrong_ with you?!" Zuko cried, as a whirling kick conjured another wall of flame to burn away his friend's attack.

But the young man didn't reply, didn't change his facial expression, didn't react at all as far as Zuko could see.

_This is bad... I might have been able to take the Avatar years ago, but now that he's fully realized, I don't stand a chance alone. Even with all of my men we'd probably lose. And yet..._

There was something off.

While Zuko had, while they were bitter enemies, seen the Avatar fight numerous times, and even more after they'd become allies and friends. Each time, the young man had had _some_ kind of expression, whether it was the focused intent of their duel in his bedchamber aboard his ship so many years ago, or the rage at his betrayal in the Crystal Caves under Ba Sing Se, or even the righteous wrath Aang had turned against Zuko's father, the results of which had effectively ended the one hundred years of war- for most people, anyway.

But this Aang was different. That it was _him_, Zuko had no doubt. The build, the movements, the eyes, everything was exactly the same- it _was_ Aang. But yet, it was not as well.

* * *

"Silly girl," Zhao said, condescension dripping from is voice, "haven't you learned yet? I'm _immortal_. I'm a god. I can't die, least of all to a whelp like you, talented though you certainly are."

For her part, Toph was swiftly becoming infuriated. _But I can't let him get to me. I can't let him see me getting mad, or he'll have won. Once I rescue Aang, _then_ I can be mad at this bastard!_

Like the first dozen, the needles of stone that were sent flying toward Zhao had no effect whatsoever. Unlike the first ones, though, he didn't bother to defend against them. He let them strike him, where they hit his skin they splintered and broke, leaving him unblemished, just as surely as they did when they struck his black armor.

"What... what's going on?" Toph asked, unable to fathom the trick.

"For someone who relies on their ears and sound so much, you don't _listen_ very well, do you, Toph?"

Zhao stepped forward slowly, calmly, gesturing softly as he came toward her, "I. Am. A. God. You can't hurt me, being only mortal. The very earth itself, if it rose up against me, could harm me not at all. Even the mighty Avatar, merged with the great Ocean Spirit La, could not destroy me. Though, admittedly, he did come close. Now, though... he is on _my _side, and the Great Spirits are nowhere nearby!"

That, of course, Toph simply would not- _could not_- believe. Aang would not join Zhao. It was impossible. And yet...

Zhao was not lying. His heartbeat remained steady, his tone sincere, even gloating.

_It... I don't understand... it can't be..._

"Ah, there you go, I know... I know it's hard," he said, his voice suddenly calm and comforting as he took the final few steps toward her and put his arms around her reassuringly, "I know it's hard to accept that the world's greatest defender is, apparently, going to help destroy it... but you have to understand, I want nothing of the sort. I don't want to destroy the world, I want to _save_ it. And that's why the Avatar is helping me."

"You... you lie..." Toph was barely able to choke out the words, and even though they both could feel the tears streaming from her sightless eyes, she refused to admit her own sorrow, her own devastation at hearing that, yet again, Zhao had been telling the truth.

"I don't," Zhao said softly, now whispering in her ear, "because I have no reason to. Like your husband before you, you have made a fatal mistake. You have shown me your heart. You have shown me your feelings. And I am now in total, absolute, control."

"Wh... what? I... I don't..."

The man released her quickly and stepped back, and if Toph had been able to see, she would have seen the delighted grin on Zhao's face waver and melt, along with the entire face itself, shortly before the body... changed.

"I don't..."

"Foolish girl... I am not _Zhao_. I have never _been_ Zhao. Why do you think a benevolent spirit such as Wa Shi Tong turned against a cause that could only be called 'good'? Because _I made him_. Why did the Fire Lord continue to do as his ancestors had, though when he was a child, or even when he married, he was a good, honorable man? Surely the Avatar has revealed that much to you... and his own questions about it. _I know why._ It's simple... _I made him_.

"I have been moving toward this moment for nearly two hundred years- and my plans are nearly complete. Ever since that accursed Avatar Kuruk proved to me that the world was unsafe in the hands of the Avatar, I have been working toward this. To make it my own, my own world to protect. As it should have been from the start!"

"You... you're... _the Face Stealer?_ You're _Koh?!_"

Now, Toph knew it was already too late to not show emotion. She may as well do what she could why she still had control.

Unfortunately for her, it was too late. No sooner had she begun to move to attack than her body simply stopped, apparently of it's own accord, ignoring her mind's commands.  
"Now, now, little Earthbender. That's not very polite to your new Lord and Master," the creature, now resembling a gigantic centipede, moved to put it's face right before Toph's own, and she found her hands lifting to examine it's face.

"... it's... it can't be... not... not Aang..."

Just before the horror of it all caused her to lose consciousness, she heard the creature begin to laugh.

**A/N2:** I'm so... surprised. Not a single review on that last chapter. Have people stopped reading? Or just stopped reviewing?  
Or is the story that bad, all of a sudden? I know the writing's not horrible, so maybe you aren't happy with the direction I'm taking it? Or not happy with the long pause while I wrote _Late Blossoms_? /shrug  
Either way, can't control too much of your actions, I suppose.  
On to cheerier topics!

Two chapters left, going by the 'plan'. The rest of the battle and finale, and then the wind-down. Though I may have the finale and wind-down in the same chapter, and another for the remainder of the battle. I'm not sure just yet.  
I _am_ trying to get it done by the end of this week- three days off, I may be able to pull it off if I can remain focused. If not... it'll get done when it gets done, unfortunately.

However, remember that _reviewing_ is the surest form to get me (and just about every other author worth their salt) to stay/remain/get focused- so do it, please. :)

Also, for those interested, a bit of other news: I'm going to reopen my Beta status, and update it a bit. If you need a good (or so I hear) one, check it out- the info is on my page as well. A PM is the best way to get in touch with me, I tend to check my mail at least six times a day, since I'm always at my computer and having to check some fact or other. (My mail is my start page)

R&R once again, please, and be good till next time, kiddies! I might even bring cake if you do! :)


	8. Chapter 8: Despair

**A/N:** As always, don't own Avatar. Probably never will. Make no profit from it, only write in the world and with (a version of) the characters for fun and entertainment of myself and others.

Also, I'd like to note that I'm apologizing, (no, really, I am- right now, in fact!) for _yet again_ being later than I said I would with an update. Normally, when a story's winding down, I tend to focus on it a lot to get it finished- and I expected to do so this time. I have it all planned in my head (and some on paper), and I know exactly (more or less) what's going to happen between now and the last word. (which is also planned, I think)

However, right after posting the last chapter (seven), I got inspired to start working heavily on one of my novels- so I did. I gotta work on the stuff that (may, eventually) make me money and an actual writer, not just a hobby like this, whenever I can. So I took advantage of it, and got down about 55 pages. Not a lot for a spurt from me, (I've been known to bang out 300- of not-crap- in three months or less, when I get going) but it was definitely worth having. So... my apologies, but I don't really regret it.

That being said, enjoy- the 'real' final battle begins in 9, but I don't anticipate it taking too long.

I was going to put in a secret- a 'builds hope' one, at the end. But I didn't think it needed it with a chapter name like this, so it'll be the start of the combat chapter instead. :)

Enjoy!

**Chap. 8 Despair**

Zuko, Fire Lord and master Firebender, was in serious trouble. The gout of roaring, incandescent purple flame blew through his own shield of fire and heat, a shield that had protected him from his very powerful sister's Firebending, as if it were paper.  
Just before the lance of energy hit him, however, one of his Honor Guard kicked him in the knees and caused him to fall backward. The fire passed overhead, inches from is nose, the residual heat causing the skin there to redden and blister.

"Thanks," he mumbled quickly to the masked guard- the only one of his guard whose name the young lord didn't know.

In response, the slender man said in a coarse, gravelly voice, "My duty, my honor, my joy, to serve you, Fire Lord."

An attack by the few remaining officers of the loyal Fire Nation army gave the scarred man a few moments to glance around and take stock of the situation. From his vantage point near the top of the hill, he could see that their army- even lacking direct leadership as it had for most of the day- was holding it's own in almost every position. They hadn't been able to advance due to the lack of overall coordination, but the simple fact that they were still alive against a numerically superior foe without a functional command structure made his heart swell with pride at the discipline of his soldiers- and their allies.

For now, it seemed that the people had truly put the differences and struggles of the past hundred year's war behind them. At the urging of many of the oldest, wisest, or most influential members of each nation and city-state, nearly every nation in the world had sent at least _some_ kind of military support. And to further that view that the Fire Nation had, at last, been forgiven for his ancestor's sins, Zuko was even further heightened to see Waterbenders, Earthbenders, and warriors from both of those kingdoms dressed in Fire Nation uniforms, though each style of combat was markedly different than his own country's to his eyes.

_Still... in a sense, we _have_ finally united the world under the Fire Nation banner... as allies, not as conquerers. Uncle... did you know this would happen when you asked the White Lotus to gather this army?_

Zuko next spared a glance backwards, to where Iroh was being treated at the edge of the new clearing by medics. His left arm had been torn off just below the elbow by a stone about as big as his belly, hurtled with insane speed by the Avatar. _I don't know if I can forgive him for that... even if he does come back to himself._ _Avatar... Aang... how could you hurt my uncle?_

"Lord Zuko," the gravelly, cold voice of his guard said, "we must find the enemy general. We cannot succeed without it, the men grow tired."

With a nod, the man returned his eyes to the battle ahead of him, "Yes. But first we have to get past the Avatar." Zuko then turned his head to either side, looking for healthy, powerful benders within hearing range. There weren't many, but... it might be enough.

"Master Pakku! General Fong! Come, I need your help!"

The guard gave him a quick glance, but said nothing. _Don't have time to worry about what that meant. We have to stop Aang!_

After the two older men had arrived, the Waterbender nearly gasping at the strain he'd been put under this day, Zuko whispered the outline of his plan.

With a nod, both master Benders nodded, and the four of them turned to Aang just as his commanders were forced to retreat. "You men, stand down. We will stop the Avatar. Healthy survivors, take over command until you're given the order by myself or one of the ranking Lotus members- my uncle being the preferred choice."

Without hesitation, the seven Firebenders withdrew, leaving Aaang, barely breathing hard, to stand in the center of the clearing. His gray eyes found Zuko's golden ones at once, and the Fire Lord was shocked at the expression he could just barely see through them. For the first time, Zuko saw Aang in despair. His lack of hope was... overwhelming. _Then... why is he still fighting us? He should _help_ us!_  
But the ready stance Aang fell into, now long familiar to Zuko as the Airbender's style, told the young lord that there would be no help coming- at least, not until they beat some sense into the Avatar.

"Do it!" he said firmly, and began to stalk forward.

* * *

"Yes, that's it, my dear," Zhao said as Toph struggled to rise, "Your husband is in need of some assistance, it seems, and we're going to go help him out. It's not far, but we need to hurry. Can you fly there, if I direct you with my mind?"

Some part of the young woman's mind was surprised that Zhao even knew she _could_ fly. But that part was tiny and insignificant next to the part that had been taken under the sway of the Face Stealer. As much as it railed and fought against his control, that part was on it's own... she knew there was no chance she could regain herself again. So, as he directed, she answered truthfully, "Yes, Lord Zhao."

"Excellent. Come, then, we will fly to your husband and end this struggle that much sooner. The world _will_ know peace."

The dust around her solidified a bit more, and with a gesture of his hands, palms upraised and open, Toph lifted herself into the air and shot forward under Koh's mental instructions.

* * *

_Got you!_

At least, Zuko had thought they'd had him. A prison of ice and a sphere of stone surrounding it, each over a foot thick, had held the Avatar for over a minute with no signs of cracking.

Then the trap had blown apart without warning, shards of stone and ice penetrating the trees and men nearby indiscriminately. A gasp from an unfamiliar voice made Zuko look back and to the right, then his eyes widened in shock and amazement. _J... Jun? What's _she_ doing here?_

Between her left arm and torso, just below her armpit, a four-inch-thick and two-foot-long splinter of jagged stone had buried itself into a tree, missing her by less than an inch on three sides.  
Her free arm was holding a bundle of white cloth, and Zuko's surprise grew even further. _What the... why did she bring a _baby_? How did she even _get_ one?!_

"Lord Zuko!" the woman cried out after a moment, "The Avatar's wife- Toph! She's coming, and Zhao is with her!"

Horrified, the Fire Lord followed her eyes upward through the remains of the trees to see a green and yellow meteor being followed by a black and red one. Like the Avatar had before them, both were streaking from the sky to land in the clearing.

As the dust settled from their impact, it revealed a strange tableau, one the young Firelord never thought he'd see. Two of his best friends, and one of his most implacable foes, standing united against him.

The stance of each was ready, but relaxed at the same time. The eyes of his remaining guard and command staff raced from the trio at the center of the camp, to each other, and to Zuko at a frenetic pace, though it was something Zuko took only the barest notice of.

Distantly, he was aware of Jun taking the final few steps needed to stand beside him, and he watched Zhao's sneer grow.

"So, my pet, you've returned to me at last."

Without warning, without giving the slightest clue to Zuko why she was behaving the way she did, the raven-haired woman lunged toward the speaker with a screech of savage rage, her hands extended like claws.  
Her stop, no closer than five feet from Zhao's form, was equally surprising.

"J- Jun? Are you all right?" Zuko asked nervously.

The woman's response shocked him yet again. She stood smoothly and, apparently without embarrassment, then moved to Zhao's side and turned to face Zuko.

_Her eyes... they're just as dead as the other's!_

There was no hesitation in Zuko's voice when next he spoke, no emotion of any kind, except the clear tone of command. "Leave the area- everyone. Stop the army, but leave each of these people alone."

Most of his men hesitated, but after seeing the steel in his amber eyes, gave a unified salute and began to retreat, leaving only Pakku and the single, masked guard behind him. "Who... no, _what_ are you, Zhao?"

All four of his enemies gave the same laugh at the same time, giving Zuko chills.

"Haven't figured it out, Zuko? I am the antithesis of the Avatar, though we have the same goal. We merely go about it in different ways."

"I... what?" An inkling of a suspicion began to grow, and he schooled his face into a dispassionate mask, which only made the group give that same eerie laugh again.

"Oh, it's far too late for that, Fire Lord. I could have taken your face in Gaoling, and many times since. It only takes the smallest of cracks in your emotional facade to be allowed through, and I can move in to take it's place."

Zuko's stomach plummeted past his feet as the man continued.

"You know how disciplined and strong the Avatar and Toph are. But it only took a few days for me to make them completely my own. There's nothing left to stop me, any more. We _will_ have peace."

Unable to help himself, Zuko snarled, only to realize, half of a thought too late, that disbelief, derision, they were emotions too.

_ Zuko. We are one. You are us all._

The response came from himself, echoing throughout their consciousness, _We are you._

_Yes. Our plan is complete, but for two steps. Every remaining adult human must be brought into our fold our destroyed. The children younger than five will be allowed to live, raised to respect and care for the earth and it's inhabitants, as they should have been taught from the beginning of time. For six generations, we will control them directly, until they have replenished to a useful, safe number, and then we will leave, return to the planet, our purpose fulfilled._

_Yes._

**A/N2:** So chaps 9, 10 are probably it. Short, for me, even in words, but the story's about done, so...


	9. Chapter 9: Battle's End

**A/N:** As always, don't own Avatar. Probably never will. Make no profit from it, only write in the world and with (a version of) the characters for fun and entertainment of myself and others.

So, good news and bad news. Good news: The story's done with this chapter. Bad news down below. Enjoy!

**Chap. 9 Battle's end**

The guard stiffened as the Fire Lord did, though hidden behind the bulky steel armor, it was hard to see any difference at all.

Zuko stood after a moment, straight and tall, then whirled towards Pakku and the guard, a blazing plane of white-hot flame arcing out from his sweeping arm.

The old man gasped once, in surprise or pain, before his two halves separated, their cauterization complete.

The guard, however, despite the heavy armor, leapt into a nearby tree just in time to clear the deadly attack.

"You made one miscalculation, then, Face Stealer," the guard said calmly, "there is one experienced killer among the Avatar's friends who never shows emotion to anyone but her immediate family- and even that is rare."

All five heads turned up as one to watch the guard pull off the helmet, revealing hair as long, black, and luxurious- despite the sweaty helmet- as Jun's, and a porcelain face.

"I will never let you have my husband, my children, or the Avatar."

Mai reached back and yanked on two straps of her armor, causing the majority of it to fall to the ground with a crash. Astounded, Koh could only watch as the woman stripped off her guantlets and greaves, revealing an outfit similar to Jun's, skin-tight and supple leather, but Mai's a deep, red ochre.

The tall, humanoid monster chuckled, "Even you show emotion sometimes, Fire Lady. For instance... if your husband is about to kill you?"

A part of Mai winced when Zuko struck again, but her face remained as impassive as ever. "Close, Koh, but not close enough. Nothing can make me fail here." A trio of knives left her hand in a blur, followed by another three from her right while the first returned to her bandolier, and she repeated the process again.

In his arrogance, Koh had not moved- indeed, none of the knives were even aimed at him. Three shuriken struck Toph's left arm, and two each in her right arm and left leg. The younger woman fell without a even a grunt of pain. She immediately began trying to stand back up, but her muscles were not able to obey.

"Excellent," the monster said, clapping, "a worthy first strike. I suppose I could force young Toph to her feet, but she's so much more useful as breeding stock... I wouldn't want her to die. Your husband, though, is up for grabs."

Without any sign that the two were communicating in any way, Zuko leapt toward his wife again, throwing streams of white-hot fire toward the dancing form of his wife.

"Hold, Zuko."

Panting, Mai raised her still expressionless eyes to look at Koh once again, while keeping her attention on her husband as well. _What is he doing? He almost had me... is he trying to breed me, as well?_

"Lady Mai... surely you don't want to fight against your dear husband? I've noticed you miss three opportunities to attack him, and two the Avatar. Yet you hesitate. Why is that?"

"Because I love him."

Koh smiled, "Of course. Any woman would. The Fire Lord is truly a great man. But... did you know that, he was less than totally faithful to you?"

Almost, the woman slipped. _What is he... but... Zuko wouldn't... but... he was gone for nearly four __years. How can I say what he did or didn't do?_

"Ah, yes... painful, I know. But it's true. There was a young Earth Kingdom girl... she made him blush so. And then his feelings for the Water Tribe girl, the one who I drove mad years ago..."

Her face still impassive, Mai didn't miss Aang's eye twitch.

"And of course, you probably already know about his feelings for Miss Bei-Fong, here. I think his crush on her was the biggest."

Mai followed his small gesture to the other woman, who was still trembling with the pain, though she showed no sign of it in her face. "Liar. Zuko would never... Toph is our _friend_."

The smallest quaver in her voice betrayed the woman, but luck was on her side just this once, and Koh's face had turned away to watch Toph as well. "You would think that... wouldn't you? But the trust this young lady showed him when he went to join the Avatar's little group... changed him. Surely you noticed, at the Boiling Rock, how different he was?"

_Yes... he was. And is. But... was it really Toph? Does he... love her? Or was it... Katara? Or... or..._

"No. I refuse to believe this." Mai stood swiftly, standing tall, and drew her twin short swords from the sheath at her back. "Speak all you want, even if it is the truth, I know it is not _all_ of the truth. Zuko has never lied to me, not once. He would have told me."

With a small grimace of annoyance, Zhao's face nodded, "True, I suppose. Then again... maybe it doesn't matter? I have my heir, I don't need you any more. I don't even need the Avatar."

Then several things happened at once.

Zuko lunged forward, tackling his wife to the ground and beginning to inhale for a massive gout of flame. The shuriken embedded in Toph's flesh flew away from her and hurtled toward Zhao, while Aang, in a blur of speed, was suddenly kneeling at his wife's side, the pair of them surrounded by a curtain of air moving so swiftly they could barely be seen.

Zhao jumped backwards to evade the metal, and lastly, Jun yelled out, her voice torn, "Stop, Koh! Make one more move, harm any one ever again... and your heir _dies_!"

At once, all eyes were on the woman. Tears flowed like a river from both eyes, but the former bounty hunter's face was stoic and unmoving. A dirk, five inches long and an inch wide, was poised to thrust upwards through her child's chin.

The strange scene didn't change for what seemed like an eternity.

Zhao's eyes moved once each to Toph, Aang, and Zuko, then back to Jun. His eyes narrowed. "You would not harm your flesh and blood, Jun. It was that loyalty that made me choose you."

But Jun could not help but notice that the breath Zuko had taken was still waiting in his lungs. "I think you know I would. I love my son. But I would sacrifice one child for the good of the world. I would sacrifice my own son."

After a moment, Zhao's form melted away, and the centipede-like form gave a little shrug, "What difference do you think it makes? There will be others. I am immortal, I can have as many heirs as I like. The worst you could do is set me back another year."

Terror began to dawn in Jun's eyes.

"_**No.**_"

The whirlwind surrounding Aang and Toph was gone. In it's place, there was a brilliant blue-white light.

Koh turned toward it, wearing Jun's face, and snarled in her voice, "And what do you think _you_ can do, Avatar? I already own _two_ of you! The power of ten thousand lifetimes... twice! You cannot stop me!"

"I?" The voice was suddenly calm, as the light started to recede and dim, "No, I cannot stop you. But I am not alone."

And then the light faded completely, but for the soft white glow being emitted from Aang's tattoos and eyes. His wife was holding his hand, a gentle smile on both of their faces.

Toph opened her eyes, and they too glowed with a soft light, though not at the radiance of the Avatar's, "Our children carry with them the strength of every Nation. Water, Earth, Fire, Air. Humanity is with us. The Spirits are with us. And you... you are alone."

As that last tone of the final word left her lips, a wave of gentle, but crushingly powerful white energy swept away from the pair, moving so swiftly that the world would be covered in moments.

In it's passing, the myriad soldiers, camp followers, and others- human, animal, and spirit- who had been taken in and controlled by the Face Stealer regained themselves.

Koh screamed and writhed, causing Jun to leap out of the way, still holding her child, when Aang spoke again, "I, Aang, Avatar, call a meeting of the Great Spirits to order. The purpose is to pass judgment on a Spirit who has overstepped his bounds."

At once, Koh's agonized writhing ceased, and he looked cunning again, his insectoid face glaring at Aang, "So... you seek to try me? I have committed no crime, no sin, Avatar. But you have been grossly negligent. I welcome this trial!"

Suddenly, he, the Avatar, and his wife were gone, leaving Jun to sob quietly, while Zuko and Mai lay together on the hillside, panting.

* * *

"It's been three years," Jun was saying, "I don't think they're coming back."

Zuko stabbed a piece of the saucy ramfish and shoved it into his mouth, scowling. Beside him, Iroh said in his faint, raspy, but comforting voice, "The Bei-Fongs still receive regular contact. They are fulfilling the duties that the Avatar should. We will see them again, when they have time."

Mai snorted, "And when is that going to be? Their children are growing up without their parents. _Our_ children are growing up without their aunt and uncle. The world needs them, sure. But what about _us_?"

Zuko snickered, almost causing the fish to fall from his mouth. His wife frowned at his lack of table manners, but said nothing, electing to fix him with a stern glare.  
Blushing, the Fire Lord looked down at the table, with his eyes barely raised to meet his wife's, "At least we haven't _needed_ them to come back."

* * *

"Mom! Dad!"

There was no answer. The house was quiet, even the servants were nowhere to be seen.

Everywhere the two looked, there were signs of recent, even current, habitation, but no one was around.

And so they settled in to wait.

Four hours later, the woman heard laughing and talking, accompanied by a crowd of people walking up the cobbled road towards her parent's house.

A few minutes later, the door to the sitting room opened, and the older woman who opened it gasped.

"T... Toph! Aang! You're back!"

Sheepishly, the blind woman nodded, and replied, "Of course, mom. We've already missed our kid's birthdays three times. You didn't think we'd miss it again, did you?"

**A/N2:** Bad News: I'm not really happy with the ending. It's nice, and comforting, and all... but doesn't fit the theme very well (Except in the abstract).

Still, at least it's _done_, now. I think you all have waited long enough for me to get this up. I'm posting now, and within a day or two (probably later tonight), I'll have my edited/final version of the other chapters up.

It's not the longest project I've done since I started writing Fanfics, (That's _Late Blossoms_ for now, but that's likely to change in the future since my other two projects are both large) but it's still a good size. Can't believe it's taken me just about a year to get it all finished, though- I had Fly Like a Rock done in just a few days, and Heart of Fire done about two months later. Procrastination ftl. :P

Ah well... done, done, and DONE. Enjoy and have fun. :)

Shameless Plug: See my profile for more stuff. :)

Shameless Plug2: See my Favs for more stuff NOT by me, most of which is quite good.

Shameless Plug3: See my C2 for my REALLY favorite favs. That's ALL good, some of the very best I've ever seen in any fanfic site anywhere.

Shameless Plug4: Reviews are really nice. :D


	10. Petition End Tyranny Nao!

First, apologies to all who thought their favorite stories were being uploaded- not quite yet. I'm working on them still, of course, but this is something I feel can't wait for an A/N. I never thought I'd be doing this instead of a chapter, but... desperate times and all that.

A personal note:

The below petition is not my creation, but I wish I'd thought of it. As many of you readers are no doubt aware, there has been a recent crackdown on lemons on Ffnet, a site many of us know and love. Now, I am fully aware that lemons violate the ToS. I've known it since before I wrote my first fanfiction, and since before I posted it- here. That being said, lemons in fanfiction have been around a long time. Longer than this site has. Longer than I've been alive, and I'm one of the older ones that frequent the site (but by no means the oldest).

However, I willfully violated the ToS in that regard (with a lemon) for one reason. It may not be 'the right reason', it may not even be a good one, but to me, as an author and creator (because as the author of this petition said, we _are_ the creators of our own original plots, events, characters, and works and we own them legally just as the canon authors own their own works), it is enough.

To me, a lemon can make a good story better. Yes, it can also make a good story (or a bad story) worse. However, do you cut off your arm because it is scratched, or even mauled? No, you get it treated.

Expecting us, as authors, to cut off a piece of our creations because someone, somewhere, in the faceless, anonymous masses of _everyone_ was offended? Just... no. I won't stand for it. If Fanfiction (dot) net is willing to kowtow to a few vocal people, then I say the vocal _masses_ stand up and make _their_ voices heard.  
Personally, I have long wished for an anti-yaoi filter. Regardless of all arguments, it's not something I enjoy reading and wouldn't even skim through if I had my choice (think how much easier your searching for a new story would be either with or without that alone!).

Adding another rating- the below-mentioned "MA" is perfectly servicable, though I'd choose something different so there isn't any confusion with "M" (X has rather negative connotations, but would also serve just fine given the nature of what we're talking about).

These are just simple corrections that would take (and I know enough of coding to be sure this is accurate) a few man-hours to do, and a few more to check it doesn't mess anything else up. In all honesty, it should take seconds.  
And yes, instead, countless man-hours are devoted to deleting other's creations, often the only copy of said creation in the world? I don't think that's right at all. It doesn't even make _sense_, because so much man-power and man-hours are being wasted when another fix is so easy.

The last suggestion is even better- a (still free) but age-verified membership, where lemons (or other graphic stories that may well pass beyond accepted 'M' ratings) are allowed? Seriously, why _not_? Is there a good reason? I can't think of any.

And to the people running Ffnet- whether a corporation, a few individuals, or whatever- I know I'm not alone when I say that making the wrong choice here not only _can_, but it _will_ cost you the entire reason for the site's success. I don't expect you to turn your site- which I have always, until now (and I still do in most ways) respected- into another "AdultFanFiction" site. But in the end, isn't this site about the fans?

-InfiniteDragon

If you care please copy, sign and post this.

Petition:

I, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that (I believe) violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in it's original form, this is something that I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be losing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

(Personal: I was led to believe this was a site for the fans. Meaning we can upload any kind of material, as long as it stuck to the criteria given to us before an upload. Or instead of simply getting rid of pretty much the best stories on the site, LIMIT the amount of yaoi on the site. Or at the very least have its own place in the filters )

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Idiote

AkumaKami64

loki191

konoha's Nightmare

zrodethwing

ursineus

KamenRidenNexus

neko-hikage-chan

Project Slepnir

Narora Senoku

spider79

ZloGlaZ

Erebus of the Banat

belnonm

Tristan Blackheart

Xefix

dbzsotrum9

Nanna00 kired-reader

Kingswriter

hollyshortfowl

ChaosRaptorEye

The Infamous Man

Vampchick2010

THE Dark Dragen 26-Lord-Pain

Vail Ryuketsu

darkmatter13

forbiddenfruitloved

lostandthedamned

EmperialGem21

Chiyo Asakura

SnakeHead85

Zediir

OccultAura

ZeroZangetsu

will1by2

Taullinis

dregus

rst64lc

Leaf Ranger

SaiyanShinobi

Kira Ultima

The Twilight Sage

Albert Da Snake

XKhaosXKyuubiX

Jay-Jay12393

Adrian deCercy

Alistor

InfiniteDragon


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